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Saturday, May 2, 2009

なんでんかんでん (Nandenkanden in Shindaita)

なんでんかんでん

(from Shindaita, make a right and walk about 8 minutes... that's Nate and Keizo in that pic... rock on)

After eating at Basanova at around 8pm, having 2 or 8 drinks at a local bar, and discussing the many fine points of ramen, Keizo, Nate, and I decided to eat another bowl. We passed Nandenkanden on our walk from Basanova to the bar. This is one of those shops you can smell from a block away. Stinky stink tonkatsu soup.

This place is goofy. It was opened by some Indian guy**. Say hello to the wacky Indian guy.

**Turns out he's just an eccentric Japanese dude from Kyushu. Sorry if I offended**** anyone from India or Japan.

****Naw, I'm not really sorry.

The menu includes your standard, but also some バカ items. Baka means stoopid. If you get this, the bowl will be covered in toppings, either nori seaweed, green onions, or quail eggs... or all 3. Having drank a bit, and eaten a lot already, we all went with the standard.

Stinky and simple. It's good stuff. But the fun of Hakata style ramen is with the toppings. Load em on!

Let's see... we've got:

Karashi Tanaka - spicy, pickled mustard greens. Use sparingly, as some shops' versions are much more potent than others.

Crushed sesame seeds - ads a nutty, creamy flavor.

Benishoga - pickled red ginger gives a tangy kick.

Fresh crushed garlic - it's a good thing.

Before...

During...

After...

This shop is open really late. I'm not sure why, it's not really in a happening neighborhood. But that didn't keep the seats empty.Official SiteMore Shop Info Here